Saint Chrysostom proclaims: "If anyone asks me what wondrous thing Christ did, I will omit the heavens, the earth, the sea, the resurrection of many dead, and the other miracles He performed... and I will point only to the Cross, which is more glorious than all." And Saint Damascene, as if supplementing this good news, says: "Every deed and miracle of Christ is great, divine, and wondrous, but most wondrous of all is His precious Cross."
The New Testament is entirely rooted in the sacred and ineffable mystery of the Cross of Christ. All New Testament truths and all New Testament blessings are rooted in the mystery of the Cross of the God-Man, drawing from it their saving and life-giving power and their divine mystery. One thing is clear: the all-saving power of Christ's Cross extends beyond all human depths, passions, vices, sins, and infirmities; it encompasses all of man, saving, redeeming, cleansing, sanctifying, deifying, and clothing him in Christ.
With his God-purified, God-sanctified, and God-enlightened mind, completely immersed in the unfathomable depths of the God-man's mystery of the world's salvation, Saint Basil the Great proclaims: "By the Cross, Christ's economy of salvation is accomplished." And Saint Gregory Palamas, wise in Christ, distilling all the apostolic and patristic gospels into a single, all-encompassing good news, proclaims: "In the Cross of the Lord is revealed the entire economy of salvation (πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκονομίαν), accomplished during the Lord's sojourn on earth, and the entire mystery of this economy is contained within it." Hence the patristic, God-wise gospel: the Cross is the foundation of the Church, the affirmation of the universe... The Cross is the strength of the weak, the physician of the infirm. The Cross is the cleansing of lepers, the restoration of strength to the paralytic. The Cross is the bread of the hungry, the source of the thirsty. "Christ was entirely on the Cross and at the same time entirely in everything." - The most wise philosopher of the Holy Spirit, St. John of Damascus , proclaims: "The Cross of Christ has clothed us in the hypostatic Wisdom and Power of God (τὴν ἐνυπόστατον τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίαν καὶ δύναμιν)." St. Chrysostom the Evangelist proclaims: "What has not the Cross done? It taught the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, the contempt for earthly goods, the thirst for the good of the future; it made men angels; "Thanks to him, everyone and everywhere became philosophers (wise men) and capable of every virtue." "The Cross founded the Church. The Cross is the confirmation of virtues. The Cross opened paradise."
Because the wondrous Savior concentrated all His saving and life-giving power in the Cross and imbued it with His entire Person, the Cross became the sign of the Son of Man ( Matt. 24:30 ; cf. Rev. 1:7 ) both on earth and in heaven—a sign by which all earthly and heavenly beings recognize Him. Since the Lord Christ, with all His infinite Divine powers, truths, and mysteries, is entirely contained in His Cross, His Precious Cross became an invincible conqueror in all worlds, an all-conquering savior from all sins, from all death, from all demons. In the Cross there is “an ineffable providence,” an ineffable dispensation of salvation, therefore the mystery of the Cross is incomprehensible: “the incomprehensible mystery of the crucifixion (τὸ ἀκατάληπτον tò τῆς σταυρώσεως μυστήριον).”
Because of the incomprehensible and all-saving mystery of the precious cross, all the services of Holy Week, especially on Great Thursday and Great Friday, are filled with prayerful awe and thanksgiving to the crucified God-Man, the Savior. Awe and thanksgiving are imbued with rapture, which concludes each prayer with the sobbing, "Incomprehensible, O Lord!" Yes, it is truly incomprehensible to the mind, truly unfathomable, that the God-Man, through His suffering and cross, saves the world and by His death overthrows sin, death, and the devil. Yes, it is incomprehensible and unfathomable, but true and real: truly with the most convincing truth and truly with the most unwavering reality, for the God-Man's reality and truth immeasurably surpass human reason and logic. The unspeakable mystery of the salvation of the human race through the Trisagion is evident. The Cross is an integral part of this most holy mystery of salvation. It is rooted in the Trisolar God, extending through the incarnate Word to all creation. All of this is immersed in the sweetest mystery of the Divine-human Person.
All the theanthropic powers of the Precious Cross, all the all-saving power of the Cross, all the all-necessity of the Cross, all the miraculousness of the Cross, all the all-victoriousness of the Cross, are imprinted in the prayerful theology of the Church, with apostolic inspiration and patristic divine wisdom. Even a fleeting glimpse of this astonishing and magnificent paradise of ecclesiastical divine wisdom, a paradise of immortal, fragrant divine-humanity, eloquently convinces us of this.
With His Precious Cross, the Lord Christ shamed the devil and, with His Resurrection, blunted the sting of sin—and saved us from death. With the Cross, the Savior captivated hell, trampled death, and enlightened the world. "Jesus rose from the tomb, as He prophesied, and gave us eternal life and great mercy." With His Cross, the Lord opened paradise to the thief. "By the Cross... all idolatry's deception was abolished, and demonic strength was trampled." "The place of execution became paradise, for the tree of the cross was erected, and immediately the Cluster of Life grew forth"—Christ the Savior. "Let us, the faithful, sing and glorify the Savior and our Deliverer, who was crucified of His own free will, as He knew and as He willed: for He nailed the sins of men on the Cross, delivering the human race from deception, and He made Him worthy of the Kingdom." "Having endured the crucifixion by Thy own free will, and having freed mankind from incorruption, O Savior, we the faithful sing and worship Thee, for Thou hast enlightened us with the power of the Cross; and with fear we glorify Thee, O generous Lover of mankind, as the Giver of Life and Lord." - "Thou hast established the striving for death, having given birth to Him Who possesses life and death, O All-Immaculate One; pray then to Him, O mortifier of sins, to establish my soul and save me."
We pray to the crucified Lord: “Thy Cross, O Christ, though visible in substance as wood, is clothed in divine power; and, being manifested sensibly to the world, it works miracles of our salvation in our minds. We worship Thee, O Savior, and have mercy on us.” “Thou wast raised up upon the Cross, and the enemy fell; and we who had fallen were raised up, and we became inhabitants of heaven, O Christ, glorifying the power of Thy Kingdom.” “By the power of Thy Cross, O Christ, strengthen my thoughts to sing and glorify Thy saving ascension (in Serbian, “crucifixion.” – Translator’s note ). "Thy Cross, O Lord, is the life and resurrection of Thy people, and trusting in it, we sing to Thee, our Risen God: Have mercy on us." "Thy Cross, O Lord, opened paradise to the human race, and having delivered us from corruption, we sing to Thee, our God, crucified in the flesh: Have mercy on us." "Protected by the Cross, we resist the enemy, not fearing his guile or barking: for the proud was abolished and trampled upon the Tree by the power of Christ crucified." By His Cross the Lord destroyed death and opened paradise to the thief. Having descended into hell by the Cross, the Lord resurrected me with Him. "Lord, Thy Cross has given us a weapon against the devil: for he trembles and shakes, unable to bear to look upon his power: for He raises the dead, and abolishes death. For this reason, we venerate Thy burial and resurrection." "Lord... Thou hast risen and granted incorruption to our souls." "Thou didst suffer the Cross, O Impassible One, and didst accept three days' burial, that Thou mightest free us from the bondage of the enemy, and, having immortalized us, Thou mightest revive us, O Christ our God, by Thy Resurrection, O Lover of Mankind." "Thou didst ascend the Cross, O Christ our God, and save the human race." Christ, through the Cross, saves the world as God. "By Thy Cross, O Savior, paradise was opened, and condemned man entered it again, magnifying Thy goodness." “By Thy Cross, O Christ, the flock of angels and men became one, and the Church one – καì μία Ἐκκλησία, heaven and earth rejoice, O Lord, glory to Thee.”
With special divine inspiration, the Cross is glorified and exalted in the services on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, from September 13th to 21st. The prayerful thought of the Church eloquently articulates the theanthropic truths about the Cross. The first clear truth of this feast declares: the Cross is "the invincible victory of piety," conquering all demons, all temptations, all sins, all evil, all death. The Cross is "the door to paradise." By the Cross, "corrosion was destroyed and abolished, the power of death was trampled upon, and we were raised from earth to heaven." The Cross is the guide of the blind, the physician of the infirm, the resurrection of all the dead; by the Cross, immortality blossomed. The Cross accomplishes salvation and deification: those on earth were deified by the Cross, the devil was utterly crushed. With its grace, the Cross sanctifies those who kiss it, for it is the source of holiness and the cause of the deification of all. By the Cross, our minds are enlightened; embracing the glorious Cross of the Lord, we are enlightened and cast away passions. By the Cross, Christ pierced the devil to the very heart and freed everyone from the bonds of hell. The Cross of the Lord is like the sun: when we kiss it with faith, our souls are enlightened. The Cross is the source of immortality, the deliverance of the entire world. In many prayers, we address the Cross as a living being, as a kind of living face. Thus, we pray: "O Most Honorable Cross... kissing you with our hearts and lips, the faithful receive sanctity," health and eternal salvation.
The prayerful thought of the Church on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord, with its God-manly truth, resounds from the Church across heaven and earth: on the Cross, the Lord slew him who slew us, revived the slain, adorned them, and in His mercy granted them a dwelling in heaven. The Cross is the praise of the faithful, the confirmation of the sufferers, the savior of all the saints. Now, on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Cross is raised up and the demons flee; now all creation is freed from corruption, for through the Cross all gifts have shone forth for us. The Cross is "the strength and protection of the Church." Hence our prayerful ascent to heaven and into the heavens: “O Cross of Christ, hope of Christians, guide of the lost, haven of the storm-tossed, victory in battles, confirmation of the universe, physician of the sick, resurrection of the dead, have mercy on us.”
The Sign of the Son of Man ( Matthew 24 – Ed. ) = The Sign of the God-Man Christ = The Sign of the Orthodox Church – the Cross; it is depicted on everything characteristic of the God-Man, and its all-conquering power pours out upon all visible and invisible creation, protecting it from all that is mortal, from all that is evil and demonic, and enriching it with immortality, virtues, and divine-humanity. And we joyfully exclaim: "The Cross is the guardian of the entire universe, the Cross is the beauty of the Church, the Cross is the power of kings, the Cross is the confirmation of the faithful, the Cross is the glory of angels and the wound of demons."
The divine-human truth and reality are as follows: by the Cross, death was completely destroyed ("devoured"). The Cross is the ladder by which we ascend to heaven; the Cross is the perfect deliverance of fallen Adam. In the midst of the earth, God has prepared salvation: the Cross and the Resurrection. The Cross is the full armor of piety. The Cross is the champion of the righteous and the savior of the saints. Christ, as God, saves the human race through the Cross. In the Cross lies the endless resurrection of the world. The Cross of the Lord is the resurrection of the dead. The Cross is raised up, and the demons are driven out; the thief opens the gates of Eden; death is mortified—and now it is empty. – And then this prayerful cry: "Having mortified the passions of the flesh and spirit, let us strive by the Cross to ascend from the earthly to the heavenly, crucified with the Lord Christ!"
Without a doubt, the Cross and the Resurrection constitute a dual reality, a dual truth, a dual power of the Savior's accomplished Divine-human economy of salvation, the Divine-human economy of deification. And therefore, at the Sunday all-night vigil, before the Holy Liturgy, we confess and give thanks: "Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and we sing and glorify Thy holy Resurrection: for Thou art our God; we know no other besides Thee; we call upon Thy name. Come, all ye faithful, let us worship the holy Resurrection of Christ: for behold, through the Cross joy has come to the whole world. Ever blessing the Lord, we sing His Resurrection: for having endured crucifixion, He destroyed death by death."
Again and again: “We worship Thy Cross, O Master, and we glorify Thy holy Resurrection.”
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Iustin_Popovich/sobranie-tvorenij-tom4/1_4_6